


Fox on the Run

by SpiritAlpha



Series: Avengers High Universe [5]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Awesome Mix Vol. 2, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Movie: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, POV Original Female Character, POV Peter Quill, Team as Family, Yondu Udonta Lives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-02-24 02:00:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13203366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpiritAlpha/pseuds/SpiritAlpha
Summary: After saving the galaxy from Ronan, the Guardians of the Galaxy help Peter Quill uncover the truth about his heritage.





	1. Mr. Blue Sky

**Location: The Sovereign**

"Showtime, a-holes!" said Peter. "It'll be here any minute."

"Which will be its loss." said Gamora, readying her gun. Peter turned to look after her.

"I thought your thing was a sword?" he asked.

"We've been hired to stop an interdimensional beast from feeding on those batteries, and I'm going to stop it with a sword?" she asked.

"It's just swords were your thing and guns were mine." he said. "But I guess we're both doing guns now. I just didn't know that."

"Is this really an important conversation right now?" asked Alyssa. "I don't think it matters what kind of weapon you're using against the Abilisk, does it?"

"Thank you!" Gamora said. "Drax, why aren't you wearing one of Rocket's aero-rigs?"

"It hurts." Drax replied.

"It hurts?"

"I have sensitive nipples." he said. Rocket burst out laughing.

"My nipples hurt! Oh, goodness me!" Rocket exclaimed.

"What's he doing?" Drax asked, pointing at Rocket.

"I'm finishing this so we can listen to tunes while we work." Rocket replied, as he set up a set of speakers.

"How is that a priority?"

"Blame Quill! He's the one who loves music so much!"

"No, I actually agree with Drax on this." said Peter. "That's hardly important right now."

"Oh, ok. Sure, Quill." Rocket winked at him.

"No, seriously. I side with Drax."

"I can clearly see you winking!" said Drax.

"Damn it. I'm using my left eye?" Alyssa and Gamora looked at each other and sighed as Peter, Rocket and Drax continued to bicker.

"As much as I hate to say it, I'm with Rocket here." said Alyssa, looking at Peter. "You have got everyone here into music, Peter. It was only a matter of time before we ended up having music blasting as we fight the Abilisk."

"Thank you!" Rocket said. "See? Even your freaking ship agrees with me!"

"Thank you, Rocket." she said. They heard a screeching sound and looked down to see baby Groot attacking an Orloni.

"I am Groot."

"They were not looking at you funny." Rocket told him. Peter's device beeped and they looked up to see the Abilisk descending towards the platform. "Well, that's intense."

The Abilisk landed in front of them. Drax yelled and ran towards it as Peter, Gamora, Rocket and Alyssa flew towards it, leaving Groot with the speakers. As the tea, began to fight the creature, they heard the familiar opening beats of Electric Light Orchestra's _Mr. Blue Sky_ start to play. Peter and Alyssa kept an eye on Groot who was dancing along to the music, seemingly oblivious to the chaos going on around him.

Peter was thrown on the ground next to Groot and fired his Quad Blaster at the Abilisk as he stumbled to his feet.

"Groot." he said, before being whacked by one of the Abilisk's tentacles.

Drax was whacked on the ground by another one of the tentacles, just missing Groot. Gamora was on the ground, firing her gun at the Abilisk and spotted Groot.

"Groot, get out of the way! You're gonna get hurt!" she told him. He waved at her. "Hi." She flew off towards the Abilisk.

Peter, Rocket and Alyssa continued to fly around the creature, Peter and Rocket firing their guns and Alyssa firing electrical blasts at it.

Down on the ground, Drax was running towards the Abilisk and Gamora was shouting after him.

"What is he doing?" asked Peter, as he and Alyssa landed either side of her.

"He said the skin is too thick to be pierced from the outside, so he..." Gamora started to explain.

"That doesn't make any sense!" said Peter.

"I tried telling him that!"

"Skin is the same level of thickness from the inside as from the outside!" said Alyssa.

"I realise that." said Gamora.

"There's a cut on its neck." said Peter. "Rocket, get it to look up." He put his helmet on and he and Alyssa flew up. They and Rocket fired at the Abilisk to distract it. "Hey, you giant Sea-Monkey! Up here!"

Alyssa saw Gamora aim at the Abilisk, then grab her sword out of its sheath and run towards the creature. Gamora jumped up and dug the sword into the cut on its neck and the Abilisk collapsed. They all watched as Drax then slid out of the opening.

"Yes!" he exclaimed, laughing. "I have single-handedly vanquished the beast!"

Peter and Alyssa looked at each other and rolled their eyes.


	2. Lake Shore Drive

"We thank you, Guardians, for putting your lives on the line."

The Guardians stood listening to High Priestess Ayesha of the Sovereign go on about how advanced their race were.

"I guess I prefer to make people the old-fashioned way." said Peter. Alyssa resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Perhaps someday, you could give me a history lesson in the archaic ways of our ancestors." High Priestess Ayesha replied. "For academic purposes."

"I would be honoured, yes." said Peter. "In the name of research... I think that would be pretty...!" He caught Gamora's eye briefly and received Alyssa's telepathic message to _stop flirting!_ "...repulsive."

"Oh, please." said Gamora, walking forward. "Your people promised something in exchange for our services. Bring it and we shall gladly be on our way." Ayesha's guards brought out Nebula who glared at Gamora.

"Family reunion, yay!" said Peter. Alyssa subtly nudged him and raised her eyebrows, silently telling him to behave himself. Gamora pulled Nebula to her feet and took her off back to the _Milano_ , closely followed by Groot.

"We thank you, High Priestess Ayesha." said Peter. He turned to follow Gamora and Nebula.

"What is your heritage, Mr. Quill?" Ayesha asked. Peter and Alyssa looked at each other and turned back to face her.

"My mother is from Earth." he said.

"And your father?"

"He ain't from Missouri. That's all I know."

"I see it within you. An unorthodox genealogy. A hybrid that seems particularly...reckless."

"You know, they told me you people were conceited douchbags, but that isn't true at all." said Rocket. Peter, Drax and Alyssa all turned to him, then quickly looked back up at Ayesha to apologise. "I'm using my wrong eye again, aren't I?" Peter, Drax and Alyssa turned and walked off, Drax pulling Rocket away. "I'm sorry. That was meant to be behind your back.

* * *

**Location: _The Milano_**

 "I'm sorry if it seemed like I was flirting with the High Priestess. I wasn't." Peter said, as Gamora secured Nebula.

"I don't care if you were." Gamora replied, walking off.

"Well, I feel like you do care. That's why I'm apologising. So, sorry!"

"That was a complete lie and you know it." said Alyssa, beside him. Peter jumped.

"I should really be used to you doing that by now." he said.

"Have you never had a romantic attachment to someone before?" she asked.

"What, you mean apart from my womanising phase?" he asked, smiling. "No, I haven't."

"That doesn't count. Not even on Terra?"

"No, not even on Earth. I didn't really mix with the other kids there. The only person I was at all close to was my mom." He stopped and looked down at the ground. She put a hand on his shoulder, making him look up at her, and smiled comfortably.

They headed up to the cockpit to join Rocket, Peter sitting in the other pilot's seat and Alyssa in the captain's chair behind them. Movement from behind the ship caught her attention.

"Does anyone want to tell me why there's a Sovereign fleet approaching from the rear?" Alyssa asked.

"Probably because Rocket stole some of their batteries." said Drax.

"Dude!" Rocket exclaimed, as everyone turned to look at him.

"Right. He didn't steal some of those. I don't know why they're after us. What a mystery this is." The Sovereign fired shots at them and Peter swerved the _Milano_ to the side to dodge them.

"What were you thinking?" Peter asked, as he and Rocket flew the _Milano_ away from the Sovereign ships.

"They were really easy to steal!" said Rocket.

" _That's_ your defense?" asked Gamora.

"Alyssa, where's the closest planet?" asked Peter.

"Berhert, about five jumps from here." Alyssa replied. "The nearest one is in 47 clicks. But to get there, you need to get through that quantum asteroid field."

"Quill, to make it through that you'd have to be the greatest pilot in the universe." said Drax.

"Luckily for us, I..."

"I am." Rocket said in unison with him. Peter looked at him, and Alyssa groaned as they started to compete with each other.

"I've been flying this rig since I was ten years old." said Peter.

"I was cybernetically engineered to pilot a spacecraft." said Rocket.

"You were cybernetically engineered to be a douchbag!"

"Stop it!" Gamora told them.

"Are both of you forgetting the fact that _I_ am clearly the best pilot on this ship since _I am the ship_!" Alyssa exclaimed.

"Later on tonight, you're gonna be lying down in bed and there's gonna be something squishy in your pillow case. And you're gonna be like "What's this?"." said Rocket. "And it's gonna be because I put a turd in there!"

"Rocket..." Alyssa warned him.

"You put your turd in my bed, I shave you." said Peter.

"Peter..."

"Oh, it won't be my turd. It'll be Drax's." Drax burst out laughing.

"I have famously huge turds."

"We're about to die and this is what we're discussing?" asked Gamora.

"Here, let me make it easier for you." said Alyssa.

She took control of her ship, taking the controls away from Rocket and flying it with Peter. However, Rocket managed to gain control again and it was now Peter and Alyssa vs. Rocket for control of the _Milano_. The battle for control of flying caused them to hit an asteroid which blew a hole in the back of the ship.

"Ow!" Alyssa exclaimed, angrily.

"Rocket, seriously." said Peter. "Stop trying to fly the ship before Alyssa forcibly locks you out of the controls!"

"It's not that bad!" said Rocket.

"You're not the one who can feel _every single hit_ that the _Milano_ gets!" Alyssa told him.

"We still have a Sovereign craft behind us." said Gamora. "Twenty clicks to the jump!"

"Drax, where are you going?" asked Alyssa.

"I'll take care of the Sovereign craft." he said.

A few minutes later, he was hanging out of the back of the ship firing a gun at the Sovereign craft. Alyssa continued to maneuver her ship in between the asteroids, helped by Peter and hindered by Rocket. They exited the asteroid field but then were ambushed by more Sovereign craft.

"They went around the field!" said Peter.

The _Milano_ took heavy fire, causing Alyssa a great deal of pain, before the ships were blown up by...something. Her control of the ship was slipping so she gave full control to Peter.

As they headed towards the jump point Rocket was the only one who saw the man on top of the other spacecraft, waving at them.

* * *

**Location: Berhert**

"First of all, how the hell did any of us, me included, even survive that?" Alyssa asked, angrily. Her avatar was flickering between flesh and blood and holographic, and she was holding her arm in pain as she tried to take her mind off her destroyed ship lying behind her. "Secondly, WHERE IS THE OTHER HALF OF MY SHIP? You had one job! _One job!_ Fly my ship and not get killed by the Sovereign! But that didn't happen because you thought it would be a good idea to _argue_ about who has the _biggest penis_ instead of focusing on the _massive space battle_!"

"If my penis had a hand, I assure you I could have landed the ship better than Rocket." said Peter.

"You zip it, Quill!" she told him.

"What about the fact that we were being chased because _he_..." Peter pointed at Rocket. "...stole the Anulax batteries?"

"They're called Harbulary batteries." said Drax.

"No, they're not!" Peter and Alyssa told him.

"You know why I did it, Star-Munch?" asked Rocket.

"I'm not gonna answer to Star-Munch."

"I did it because I wanted to!"

"We were hired to _protect_ those batteries!" Gamora reminded him. "You can't steal things that you were hired to protect!"

"That's rich, coming from a daughter of Thanos!" Rocket exclaimed. Gamora drew her sword.

"I am no daughter of Thanos!" she exclaimed. Peter and Alyssa quickly held her and Rocket away from each other.

"Woah, woah, stop!" Peter said. "We can't start fighting!"

"What are we even talking about this for?" asked Rocket. "We just had a little man save us by blowing up fifty ships!"

"How little?" asked Drax.

"I don't know...like this?" Rocket used his paws to show them.

"A little one-inch man saved us?" asked Gamora, putting away her sword.

"Well, if he got closer I'm sure he'd be a bit larger."

"That's how eyesight works, you stupid raccoon." said Peter.

"Peter, don't!" said Alyssa.

" _Don't_ call me a raccoon!"

"I'm sorry. I took it too far. I meant trash panda." Rocket looked around in confusion.

"Is that better?" he asked Alyssa.

"I don't know." she said.

"It's worse." Peter whispered to her, grinning. "It's so much worse." Rocket jumped at Peter and Alyssa stepped in between them to keep them apart. She was too preoccupied with them to notice what Nebula did.

"Someone followed you through the jump point." Nebula said. Peter and Rocket stopped fighting and the Guardians gathered in a circle facing outwards, looking up at the ship heading towards them. Alyssa scanned it but didn't recognise the make. "Set me free, you'll need my help."

"I'm not a fool, Nebula." said Gamora.

"You are a fool if you deprive yourself a hand in combat." said Nebula.

"You'll attack me the moment I let you go."

"No, I won't."

"You'd think an evil supervillain would learn how to properly lie." said Peter.

"I bet it's the one-inch man." said Drax.

The team stood in a line, weapons drawn, as the ship, which was a round white egg shape, landed in front of them. The door opened and two people walked out - a young woman with antennae who seemed to be quite nervous, and an elderly man with a Terran appearance. Alyssa doubted he was Terran, though. After all, she and Kraglin looked Terran but weren't.

"After all these years I've found you." The man said.

"And who the hell are you?" asked Peter.

"I figured my rugged good looks would make that obvious. My name is Ego...and I'm your dad, Peter."


	3. The Chain

The Guardians sat around a campfire on Berhert with Ego and Mantis. Alyssa was on edge, wary of the two newcomers. Mantis was feeling socially awkward, the same as Drax, and Ego... Alyssa wasn't sure about Ego. There was something about him that she didn't like. He seemed to sense her unease and, whilst he was talking to Peter, who was sitting between her and Ego, discreetly studied her with the same unease.

At least they were on the same page.

"I hired Yondu to pick you up after your mother passed away." Ego explained. "But, instead of returning you, Yondu kept you. I have no clue as to why."

"I'll tell you why." said Peter. "I was a skinny little kid who could slip into places adults couldn't, made it easier for thieving."

"Well, I've been trying to track you down ever since." said Ego.

"It took you twenty six years to track him down?" Alyssa asked. Her tone was calm but there was an undertone of wariness and suspicion, something which Ego picked up on.

"The universe is a large place." he replied. "The Ravagers don't stay in one place at a place. It would have been hard for me to track them down." Alyssa nodded.

The conversation digressed as Drax thought that Yondu was Peter's father and Peter and Rocket corrected him. Alyssa felt something, or _someone_ , poking around inside her head. Still looking at Drax, she knew it was Ego.

 _Get out of my head._ she warned him. There was no answer so she pushed him out. There was no use pretending - Alyssa didn't trust Ego and Ego didn't trust Alyssa.

"How'd you locate us now?" Gamora asked, drawing Ego's attention away.

"Well, even where I reside, out past the edge of what's know, we've heard tell about the man they call Star-Lord." replied Ego. He stood up. "What say we head out there right now? Your associates are welcome. Even that triangle-faced monkey there. I promise you it's unlike any other place you've ever seen. And there... I can explain your very special heritage. Finally get to be... the father I've always wanted to be. Excuse me. I've gotta take a whizz." They watched Ego walk off into the forest.

"I'm not buying it." said Peter, once Ego was out of earshot.

"Let's go take a walk." said Gamora. She exchanged looks with Alyssa and they led Peter off in the other direction to talk privately.

* * *

"I don't trust him." said Alyssa. "Something is...off about him."

"Neither do I." said Gamora. "Off how?"

"I don't know, but _something_ about him is off." Alyssa shook her head. "It's probably nothing."

"Coming from you, it probably does mean something." said Peter. "It's just... After all this time, he just shows up, and all of a sudden...he wants to be my dad? Besides, this could also be a trap. The Kree purists, the Ravagers, they all want us dead."

"Ego was telling the truth about being your dad." said Alyssa. "But I'm getting the feeling that he wants something from you. I just don't know what."

"What about the girl, Mantis?" asked Gamora.

"Oh, she's not a threat. She's like Drax and Groot. Naive, socially awkward. I'm not sensing anything bad about her. It's just Ego I'm concerned about." Gamora turned to Peter.

"What was that story you told me about Zardu Hasslefrou?" she asked.

"Who?" asked Peter.

"He owned a magic boat?"

"Do you mean David Hasselhoff?" asked Alyssa.

"Right." said Gamora, nodding.

"It wasn't a magic boat, it was a talking car." said Peter.

"Why did he talk again?"

"To help him fight crime. I told you that when I was drunk." he said. "Why are you bringing it up now?"

"What if Ego is your Hasselhoff?" Gamora replied. "If he ends up being evil, we'll just kill him." Peter nodded.

"Just...be careful around him, Peter." said Alyssa. "I don't want you getting hurt."

* * *

Peter, Gamora and Drax packed to go to Ego's planet leaving Rocket, Groot and Nebula on the _Milano_ , Rocket using a device to fix the ship. Alyssa gave him strict instructions not to destroy her ship any more than she already was. After that, she went to find Peter and put her hand on his shoulder to assure him that everything was going to be alright. Gamora assured Groot that they would be back soon and they started to head off the _Milano_.

"I hope Daddy isn't as big of a dick as you, orphan boy." Rocket said. Peter turned to him.

"What is your goal here?" he asked. "To get everybody to hate you? Because it's working."

Peter, Gamora. Drax and Alyssa made their way to Ego's ship and Alyssa heard a familiar song play in Peter's head.

 _And if you don't love me now_  
_You will never love me again_  
_I can still hear you saying_  
_You would never break the chain_  
_And if you don't love me now_  
_You will never love me again_  
_I can still hear you saying_  
_You would never break the chain_


	4. My Sweet Lord

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been busy with life and I've only now just got round to continuing with this story again. Enjoy!

**Location: Ego's ship**

Alyssa and Gamora weren't at all surprised that Peter and Drax had made a bet on what Mantis' antennae were for. The two women looked at each other as the two men discussed their bet with Mantis, who was looking very confused by it.

"I think they have something to do with my empathic abilities." said Mantis.

"You're an empath?" asked Alyssa. Mantis nodded. "So am I."

"I've never met another empath before!" said Mantis, smiling.

"Neither have I." said Alyssa, smiling back. That was a lie. She had encountered a few other empaths throughout the galaxy, but she felt it best to agree with Mantis on this one.

"May I?" Mantis asked Peter.

"All right." said Peter. Mantis put her hand on top of Peter's and the ends of her antennae glowed.

"You feel love."

"Yeah. I guess I feel a general, unselfish love for just about everybody."

"No! Romantic, sexual love."

"No, I don't."

"For her!" Mantis pointed at Gamora and Peter pulled his hand away. Drax burst into laughter and pointed at Peter.

"She just told everyone your deepest, darkest secret!" Drax exclaimed. "You must be so embarrassed!" Peter groaned then turned to Alyssa as she started to laugh.

"Oh, come on!" he exclaimed. "You too?"

"What?" Alyssa asked, laughing. "This is the first time I've seen you this embarrassed! Your face!" Mantis started to laugh too as she put her hand on Drax's chest and felt his humour.

"So unbelievably uncool." muttered Peter. Alyssa smiled and ruffled his hair playfully, making him smile. Mantis, still laughing, walked over to Gamora, who caught hold of her wrist.

"Touch me, and the only thing you're gonna feel is a broken jaw." Gamora said. Mantis took her hand away and turned to the group, back to her nervous self.

"I can also alter emotions to some extent." she said. "If I touch someone who is sad, I can ease them into contentment for a short while. I can make a stubborn person compliant. But I mostly use it to help my master sleep."

"Your master?" Alyssa asked, concerned. Mantis looked at her and didn't say anything, but Alyssa could feel the fear emanating from her. Mantis used her powers to put Drax to sleep and the sound of his snoring filled the awkward silence.

* * *

Alyssa walked over to where Mantis was quietly sitting by herself.

"Hey, Mantis." Alyssa greeted her, smiling. Mantis looked up.

"Hello, Alyssa." she replied.

"May I join you?" Mantis hesitated then nodded and Alyssa sat down next to her. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything is alright." said Mantis, nodding.

"I mean, everything with you and Ego. You called him your master? What's up with that?"

"I help Ego sleep to ease his conscience." replied Mantis.

"Right." said Alyssa, not believing it for a minute but not saying anything more. "If you want to talk, I'm here. Ok?" Mantis nodded.

"Ok." she replied. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

* * *

**Location: Ego's planet**

"Welcome, everyone, to my world."

Peter, Alyssa, Gamora and Drax looked around them in amazement. Alyssa had been to many places during her time with the Ravagers and Peter, but this was unlike anything she had ever seen.

"Wow." said Peter. "You have your own planet?"

"Come on. No larger than your Earth's moon."

"Humility. I like it." said Drax. "I, too, am extraordinarily humble."

The ship landed in front of a large palace - which Alyssa thought was a bit much for two people - and Ego led them towards it, Mantis close behind him and the four Guardians following.

"You own a planet and can destroy two dozen spaceships without a suit." said Gamora. "What are you exactly?"

"I'm what's called a Celestial." replied Ego. Peter, Alyssa, Gamora and Drax stopped and looked at him.

"A Celestial, like a god?" asked Peter. Ego and Mantis turned round.

"Small 'g', son. At least on the days I'm feeling as humble as Drax."

 _You are literally called Ego._ Alyssa thought. _Somehow, I don't think you're as humble as you say you are._

"I don't know where I came from, exactly." Ego started to explain, as he led them inside. The dioramas around them began to animate as he spoke. "First thing I remember is flickering, adrift in the cosmos utterly and entirely alone. Over millions of years, I learned to control the molecules around me. I grew smarter and stronger. And I continued building from there, layer by layer, the very planet you walk on now."

"You're a sentient planet." said Alyssa, in awe.

"Exactly." he replied. "But I wanted more. I desired...meaning. _There must be some life out there in the universe besides just me_ , I thought. And so, I set myself the task of finding it. I created what I imagined biological life to be like, down to the most minute detail."

"Did you make a penis?" asked Drax.

" _Dude_!" Peter exclaimed.

"If he is a planet, how could he make a baby with your mother? He would smush her."

"He clearly does have a penis, since he managed to make a half-Celestial baby." said Alyssa, smiling and nodding to Peter.

"Shut up." Peter muttered. Alyssa simply continued to smile at him.

"Yes, Drax, I got a penis." said Ego.

"Ha! Thank you." said Drax.

"And it's not half bad."

"Oh my God." Peter said. Alyssa facepalmed and her and Gamora's body language said the same thing - _we did not need that information._

"Why are males so obsessed with their penises?" Alyssa asked.

"We're men." said Peter. "We think with our dicks rather than our heads."

"No shit." she muttered, making a face at him.

"I've also got pain receptors, and a digestive system and all the accompanying junk." Ego continued. "I wanted to experience what it truly meant to be human as I set out amongst the stars, until I found what I sought. Life." The diorama in front of them showed Ego with a small alien child. "I was not alone in the universe after all."

"When did you meet my mother?" asked Peter. Ego turned to him and smiled.

"Not long after." he said, leading them to a final diorama. It showed Ego and Meredith Quill kissing, Ego's hand on Meredith's pregnant belly. "It was with Meredith that I first experienced love. I called her my river lily. And from that love, Peter, you." Inside the womb, they saw a fetus of Peter. Peter and Alyssa both stared up at it in amazement - Peter seeing the story of himself, and Alyssa, smiling, as she saw her pilot's beloved mother. "I have searched for you for so long. And when I heard of a man from Earth who held an Infinity Stone in his hand without dying, I knew you must be the son of the woman I loved."

"If you loved her, why did you leave her?"


	5. Come A Little Bit Closer

"My mother told everyone my father was from the stars." said Peter. He was standing in the courtyard of Ego's palace, looking up at a statue of Meredith, with Ego next to him. "She had brain cancer, so everyone thought she was delusional."

"Peter..." Ego said. Peter turned to face him.

"Listen. I'd love to believe all of this, I really would, but you left the most wonderful woman ever to  _die alone_." said Peter.

"I didn't want to leave your mother, Peter." said Ego. "But if I don't return regularly to this planet, and the light within, this form will wither and perish."

"So why didn't you come back? Why'd you send Yondu, a criminal, of all people, to fetch me?" 

"I loved your mother, Peter! I couldn't stand to step foot on an earth where she wasn't living! You can't imagine what that's like!"

"I know exactly what that feels like!  _I had to watch her die!_ "

Ego stopped and looked at him.

"Over the millions and millions of years of my existence I have made many mistakes, Peter. But you're not one of them." said Ego. "Please give me the chance to be the father she would want me to be. There's so much that I need to teach you about this planet and the light within. They are a part of you, Peter."

"What do you mean?" Peter asked.

"Give me your hands, son. Here." Ego took Peter's hands in his own. "Hold them like that."

Ego told Peter to concentrate and eventually a white light emanated from Peter's hands and quickly disappeared. Ego encouraged him to focus again and this time the light came back. Peter, under instruction from his father, formed the light into a ball shape.

"You're home."

Peter smiled and threw him the ball. Ego laughed and threw it back, backing further away. Father and son continued to toss the ball to each other, a friendly game of catch going on in the middle of the courtyard.

* * *

 After Peter had left, Alyssa stood in the courtyard of Ego's palace, looking up at the statue of Meredith. She sensed someone coming up behind her and didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

"You know, you shouldn't sneak up on someone who's heavily armed." she said. Ego chuckled and came to stand beside her.

"You don't seem heavily armed, but I suppose appearances can be deceiving." he replied.

"You should know." she said, looking at him. "You seem like a kindly father, but you obliterated an entire fleet of Sovereign ships." That wasn't the reason why she had replied the way she did and he knew that.

"I'm a Celestial. I think I can handle the Sovereign."

"We did have it handled, but thanks for the backup anyway."

"You're welcome." he said. "Do you often get into space fights?" She laughed.

"We're criminals. Of _course_ we piss people off and get into space fights." she replied.

"Have you ever pissed off anyone more powerful than you?"

"The only ones we've pissed off so far are the Kree and the Sovereign and neither of them are that big of a deal for us." she replied. "Why? Do you know of anyone more powerful than us who we might piss off? Because we would still kick their ass." They looked at each other in silence, the tension between them growing. "Ok, let's cut the bullshit, Ego." She turned to face him, putting her hands on her hips. "I don't trust you, you don't trust me. You should know that if you do _anything_ to harm Peter then you will have to deal with me, and I am not someone you want on your bad side!" Ego studied her for a few minutes before answering.

"I assure you, no danger will come to any of you here. Especially not to Peter." he replied. "Anyway, what chance would you have against a Celestial?" His voice was calm, but she picked up on the underlying threat. She laughed.

"I'm a Ravager M-ship with a half-Celestial pilot and the Guardians of the Galaxy as passengers." she replied. "Don't test me, Ego." The surrounding air grew colder and thicker. "Really? Is that supposed to intimidate me? I've spent years with an all-male Ravager clan. Intimidation doesn't work on me."

"I'm just reminding you who's in charge here." he said, staring her down. She stared back at him. His body crackled with Celestial energy and hers crackled with electrical energy.

"Try and kill Peter and I will kill you!" she told him, firmly.

"Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt."

Alyssa and Ego turned and saw Mantis standing at the doorway. The threatening energy from Alyssa and Ego quickly disappeared.

"Mantis." said Alyssa, smiling. She knew that Mantis had sensed the tension between them.

"Peter was looking for you." said Mantis.

"Thanks." said Alyssa. "I'll go see him." She turned to Ego. "It was good talking with you, Ego. We should carry it on at some point."

"Yes, we should." replied Ego. Alyssa nodded then turned to Mantis.

"You good?" she asked. Mantis looked quickly at Ego then back at Alyssa, nodding silently. "Good." All three of them knew exactly what Alyssa had meant by that.

She walked away to find Peter, knowing that the animosity between her and Ego was going to blow up at some point.


	6. Bring It On Home to Me

Peter and Alyssa stood on the balcony of Peter's room, Alyssa trying to contact Rocket on the radio.

"I'm sure he's fine." said Peter.

"I just want to check that everything's alright." Alyssa replied. "We haven't had any contact with them." She turned off the radio and instead closed her eyes, reaching out to the _Milano_. It wasn't easy due to her ship was destroyed, but she got the general message. "No one's there." She opened her eyes and turned to Peter.

"What?" he asked, looking at her.

"Rocket, Groot and Nebula aren't on the _Milano_." She closed her eyes again briefly then opened them. "The Ravagers. They formed a mutiny, Nebula temporarily joined up with them and they captured Yondu, Rocket and Groot. So, normal stuff." She turned away from him and carried on fiddling with the radio, not really trying to get through to anyone. She was vaguely aware of Peter coming up behind her. "Peter, what are you doing?"

"Dance with me." Peter said.

"No, Peter." She looked up at him. "The rest of our team is in trouble."

"Oh, come on! Rocket and Yondu can take care of themselves."

"Peter, did you hear what I just said? Yondu's clan have formed a mutiny, Rocket, Groot and Yondu have been captured, Groot is a  _baby_ , and you know what Rocket's like!"

"Oh, Yondu can just talk to them." said Peter. She raised her eyebrows.

"A mutiny is an open rebellion against the officers of sailors or soldiers." Alyssa told him. "The whole point is that they don't _want_ Yondu in charge!" She knew that Yondu and Rocket would find a way to escape, but Peter didn't need to hear that right now. "Why are you still dancing? Now is not the time to be dancing! We need to discuss the situation!" She put the radio down and headed into his sleeping quarters.

"What do you mean?" Peter asked, following her. "You already said that Rocket and Yondu ended up in a mutiny." She was surprised to hear that he didn't seem interested; normally, he would be more concerned about his teammates. 

"I don't mean that." she said. "I mean _this_!" She gestured around her. "Something's not right!" She and Ego might have come to a mutual agreement, but there was no way she wasn't going to carry on trying to persuade Peter.

"What are you talking about? You and Gamora are the ones who wanted me to come here!"

"I also said to be careful because there was something off about Ego!" Alyssa replied. "Mantis is scared of something. There's only one person on this planet who that could be."

"He's my father. He's blood."

"You also have blood on Earth."

"Earth is the place my mother died in front of me."

"You were raised by _Ravagers_! I know Ego is your father, but you should know better than to trust someone who just _turns up_ out of the blue and says _Oh, I'm your father, Peter. Come with me to my planet which is out in the middle of nowhere and is completely empty except for one other person!_ Don't you think that it's suspicious?"

"No, I don't think it's suspicious! I think that you're overreacting!"

" _Overreacting_? Are you serious?" she asked. "Ego is _manipulating_ you, Peter! Can't you see that?"

"I've finally found my family. Can't you understand that?" he asked.

" _We're_ your family as well." she told him.

* * *

Alyssa sat alone in the fields, fiddling with her radio. She let her mind wander back to Peter, instinctively wanting to make sure that he was safe. She wasn't surprised to see that Ego had arrived a few minutes after she left. Of  _course_ he had been eavesdropping on their conversation. She would have done the same thing on the  _Milano_.

 _Oh look, Ego turned up right after I left._ she said to Peter.  _Don't you think that that's not a coincidence?_

 _Shut up._ Peter replied.  _Maybe it is a coincidence._

 _You're kidding, right?_ she asked.

" _You alright, son?_ " she heard Ego ask. " _I saw Alyssa stomp off earlier in quite a huff._ " Alyssa laughed. Peter ignored her.

" _Yeah, we...had a bit of a disagreement._ " Peter replied. " _Nothing to worry about._ "

 _Nothing to worry about?_ she asked him. He ignored her again.  _Oh, come on! Don't you start ignoring me, Peter Quill!_ She vaguely listened as Ego and Peter spoke about Peter's music, specifically "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)"by Looking Glass.

"He came on a summer's day, bringing gifts from far away." said Ego. " _Like the child I put in your mother or the freedom you brought Gamora._ "

 _What the actual fuck._ Alyssa commented.

"... _sometimes we are deprived the pleasures of mortals._ " said Ego.

" _Well, you might not be mortal, but me..._ "

" _Death will remain a stranger to both of us as long as the light burns within the planet._ "

" _I'm immortal?_ " Peter asked. Alyssa internally groaned. She didn't need to hear Peter and Ego talking about immortality. "G _et ready for an eight hundred foot statue of Pac Man with Skeletor and Heather Locklear! I'm gonna make some weird shit._ " Alyssa laughed. Ok, that was funny.

" _I can't wait to see your weird shit._ " Ego replied.

" _Wow, that..._ "

" _Came out a little disgusting._ " As much as she distrusted Ego, Alyssa had to admit that he had a sense of humour. Ego and Peter chuckled. " _Come with me_." Alyssa heard footsteps coming up behind her and relaxed as she recognised them.

"Gamora." she greeted her.

"Alyssa." Gamora replied, sitting down next to her then looking at the radio. "Can't you contact Rocket?" Alyssa shook her head.

"He, Groot and Yondu got themselves caught up in a Ravager mutiny." she replied. Gamora chuckled.

"Why am I not surprised?" She looked at Alyssa. "Are you alright? Is Peter being an a-hole?"

"He is." Alyssa said, nodding. "I've tried talking to him, but he's too stubborn. He won't listen."

"Something's wrong about this place." 

"I know." replied Alyssa. She noticed Gamora's worried expression. "What?"

"Won't Ego be able to hear us?"

"He will, but I don't care." Gamora hesitated, then laid a hand on Alyssa's shoulder which made Alyssa smile. "Thanks, Gamora."

"No problem, Alyssa." They heard the faint sound of a ship. They stood up and turned around, and saw a Ravager M-ship flying into view.

"Nebula." said Gamora.

The two women turned and ran as Nebula fired on them. They both jumped off a cliff and landed on the ground. Between Gamora's enhancements and Alyssa being an avatar, neither of them were affected.

"So, is there any particular reason why Nebula's trying to kill you?" Alyssa asked.

"Not any that I can think of." Gamora replied.

Alyssa and Gamora ran into a cave and ducked as Nebula's ship flew in after them and crashed in front of them. Alyssa winced slightly as it crashed and burned. Gamora picked up one of the ship's guns and fired it at Nebula's ship. Alyssa decided to stay out of it, waiting until Gamora had stopped firing. Gamora pulled Nebula out of the wreckage and the three of them lay there on the ground, catching their breath, then Nebula started to attack Gamora.

" _Are you kidding me?_ " asked Gamora.

She and Nebula fought. Alyssa tried to break it up but was thrown back onto the ground by Nebula. She watched as Nebula choked Gamora until Nebula let her go.

"I win." said Nebula. "I win, I bested you in combat!"

"No, I saved your life." said Gamora.

"Well, you were stupid enough to let me live."

"You let me live."

"I don't need you always trying to beat me." said Nebula.

"I'm not the one that flew across the universe just because I wanted to win."

"You were the one who wanted to win, and I just wanted a sister!" Nebula exclaimed. "You were all I had. But you were the one who needed to win. Thanos pulled my eye from my head, and my brain from my skull, and my arm from my body. Because of you."

As Gamora sat in silence from this revelation, Alyssa suddenly winced and cried out as she psychically sensed her mothership, the  _Elector_ , being killed.

"Alyssa?" Gamora and Nebula turned to her in concern. Well, Gamora was concerned and Nebula awkwardly hovered.

"Yondu just blew up the  _Eclector_." Alyssa replied, sadly. "My mothership and my sister ships...they're all gone." She looked up. "Seriously,  _what the actual hell, Yondu?_ "

 _It wasn't the plan, Alyssa._ Yondu replied.

"It wasn't... What  _was_ your plan?"

 _Escape from the_ Eclector  _and kill all of Taserface's crew. It's not my fault the_ Eclector  _happened to blow up!_

 _You should have thought about that before you started killing everyone on it!_ Rocket exclaimed.

"Rocket!" Alyssa greeted him. "Are you ok? Is Groot ok?"

_Hey, Alyssa. Yeah, me and Groot are fine._

"That's good." she said. "At least  _someone_ is ok. It's not as if you just tried to kill your sister  _again_ , or you blew up a mothership, or you're not listening to your A.I. who's telling you that your father is  _clearly_ up to something evil!" Alyssa paused and took in a deep breath, her outburst over. However, Yondu and Kraglin knew that that was only the start.

 _Quill's with Ego, isn't he?_ Yondu asked.

"Yes, he is." Alyssa replied.

 _Alyssa, it's Kraglin._ Kraglin said.  _We're on our way to you. Can you go a few more minutes before punching someone?_

"No, I can't."

_Ok. Just checking._

"Shouldn't we get out of here?" Nebula asked.

"Yes, we should." Gamora agreed, nodding. Alyssa was amazed at how quickly the two sisters forgot the fight that they had just had five minutes ago. "Alyssa?"

"I'm ok." said Alyssa, getting up. "Yondu, Kraglin, Rocket, just get here as quickly as you can. I'm feeling  _very_ stressed and I'm going to end up punching someone, probably Ego, sooner rather than later."

 _Ok._ said Yondu.  _When we get there, you have full authority to punch me in the face._

"I don't need your authority to do that anyway, you big blue bastard." Alyssa said, smiling.

Gamora, Nebula and Alyssa walked through the cave, regaining their bearings after the fight until they came to a large cavern.

"Oh my God." said Gamora.

The three of them stood there and looked in horror at the thousands of piles of bones lying in the cave.

"Peter..." said Alyssa, her anger towards Yondu quickly replaced by her worry for Peter.

"We need to get off this planet." said Nebula.


End file.
